


Better than a Dream

by supreme_genius



Category: Grimm (TV)
Genre: M/M, Sexual Content, brief mention of Juliette, brief mention of break up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-04
Updated: 2014-01-04
Packaged: 2018-01-07 09:31:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1118297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supreme_genius/pseuds/supreme_genius
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes reality is better than your dreams.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Better than a Dream

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Grimm or make money from this.  
> This is unbeta'd and I'm currently working without MS Word, so I've got no spell check.

Nick lays on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. It was different in his apartment than it had been in the house. There never seemed to be a moment of complete silence. If the dog in the building next door wasn’t barking, than the upstairs neighbors were fighting. But today Nick seemed almost thankful for it. The noise made him feel less alone.

It has been four weeks since he left the house for the last time, the last of his boxed up belongings in the back of his truck. For a while, things with Juliette had been going so well – she had regained her memories, found out about his life as a grimm, and was accepting it. She was even trying her best to learn about wesen. But then they had both realized that it wasn’t her memory loss that was pushing them apart. They had started drifting when Nick had found out he was a grimm. He had been lying about where he was going, he had missed too many dinners to count. He had figured it was all grimm-related. But even with everything out in the open, Nick still found himself wanting to lie about where he was going and what he was doing; he couldn’t seem to shake the habit. Eventually Juliette had had enough and put her foot down. She said she refused to let Nick walk all over her.

  
That was how Nick found himself in a little apartment with less-than-desirable neighbors. He had briefly considered asking Monroe for help again, but he knew that wasn’t fair to his best friend. But Monroe still offered and when Nick declined, Monroe said he could at least help his friend move. The two spent three days packing, moving, and unpacking. There was a lot of pizza and beer involved, too.

  
Slowly, Nick’s getting used to the single life, to sleeping alone, to making his own dinners. Well, maybe not the last one so much. He mooches off Monroe, who never seems to mind. Monroe always says he enjoys the company. But some days – like today – the loneliness can be almost too much to deal with.

  
With a sigh, Nick rolls over and grabs his phone and punches in Monroe’s number. _Hey. Are you busy tonight?_ Nick knows Monroe’s busy with a clock this afternoon, so he’s expecting a delayed answer. But as soon as Nick sets his phone back down, it’s buzzing. _Nope. Finished my clock early. You want to have dinner or something?_ Nick smiles. Sometimes he feels like he’s a bother to Monroe, so it’s nice when he gets a text like that. _Yeah. Dinner is my treat. You want to come here? Around 7?_ Nick gets up to find the number for the pizza place closer to him and when he comes back there’s a text from Monroe. _Sounds good. Garlic knots and wings too?_

  
After setting the alarm on his phone, Nick lets himself spend his day off sleeping. He and Hank had finally closed their case – a grueling, wesen-free triple homicide. Nick put in a request for a few days off and he was happy to see Renard oblige. So now that he has some time off, Nick is determined to relax. The first thing on his list is a nice, long nap.

Nick doesn’t dream often, at least not that he remembers. But right now he was in that sort of limbo, where you know you’re dreaming and keep sleeping. The room he’s in isn’t familiar, but it’s nice. There’s a built-in book shelf that takes up one entire wall. The wall next to it is lined with large windows. The sun is setting and by the view, Nick can tell he’s still in Portland. Something drives him to shut the curtains and as soon as the last set is closed, a light turns on behind him. There’s a bed on the wall next to him. The sheets are blue and green plaid, flannel. There’s lots of pillows and it looks like it might be the most comfortable bed he would have the pleasure of lying on. On the last wall, between the bed and the books, is a door. He walks over and tries the handle, but it’s locked. Normally he’d be a bit nervous, but it’s like the dream made him void of any emotion that isn’t calmness.

  
First, he peruses the books. It’s mostly classics and the kind of books that get assigned to college students. Nothing grabs his attention so he steps away and walks over to the bed. He sits down on the edge of the bed, testing it out. Nick lies down and lets himself relax. Although it’s something he would do in his waking life, it still makes for a weird dream. Who dreams about taking a nap?

  
As Nick’s eyes begin to fall closed, a familiar scent tickles his nose. It usually isn’t quite so strong, though. The scent made the corners of Nick’s lips perk up into a smile. It’s one of those scents that makes you think about all the good things, that gives you a warm feeling deep inside, makes you feel cozy and at home. Nick can feel the mattress dip down; someone is lying next to him. As if acting on autopilot, Nick moves closer to the other body. The other person is a bit larger than Nick, and when his face gets close to the other person, he feels the soft tickle of a beard. Nick knows he should open his eyes, see who is lying next to him, but he doesn’t. Just as he feels himself falling asleep, his eyes begin to open. He's lying in his own bed, alone. He’s sad briefly, but then the alarm on his phone starts ringing.

  
He rolls out of bed, and walks into the bathroom. He fusses with his hair, but decides it’s good enough when he finally gets all the stray pieces to stay down. After running a hand over his jaw, he decides to keep the 5 o’clock shadow. When he walks back into his room, he trades his pajama pants for a pair of jeans and then changed into a less wrinkly t-shirt. As he grabs his watch from the top of his dresser, he checks the time; it’s just about 6:30. Nick already calls in an order at his and Monroe’s favorite pizzeria, knowing they tend to have a longer wait time on Fridays.

It’s just after seven when Monroe walks through the door. He still feels kind of weird just letting himself in. He’d never had a key to Nick’s house, but now he had a key to both the apartment and the trailer. Nick had insisted, saying that since he was living alone, someone should drop by from time to time to make sure he’s not dead. Monroe had rolled his eyes and accepted the key with a sigh. He hangs his coat on a hook by the door, kicks off his boots, then heads to the living room.

“Nick?”

“In the kitchen.”

Monroe walks passed the sofa and into the kitchen. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Not much. I already put in our order. Should be here soon. You want a beer?”

“Do you really have to ask?”

Nick smiles and hands a beer to Monroe. It’s not long before their pizza arrives and the two completely pig-out on veggie lover’s pizza, vegan wings, and garlic knots. Nick turns an Oregon Ducks game on and by the time the first half is ending, all that’s left of the food is crumbs and they’re finishing the rest of a six-pack. As half-time begins, the two clean their plates and the boxes off the coffee table – Nick has yet to invest in a dining table – and then settle back on the sofa with a few more beers.

“Hey, Monroe?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I talk to you something?”

“Sure.” He grabs the remote and turns down the volume.

Nick furrows his brow as his lips bend into a frown. He pulls his legs up on the sofa and wraps his arms around them, as if he’s trying to make himself as small as he feels. Suddenly Nick feels like a kid again, getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar. That same kid that never felt like he was good enough, that spent four months in little league and only sat on the bench, that brought home Bs and Cs at school but never an A. He sighs.

“She hates me, Monroe.”

“Who? Juliette?”

Nick nods. “I lied to her, for an entire year. I let her get hurt. And when she needed the truth the most, I still kept it from her.” He rests his chin on his knees.

“It’s not like you had much of a choice, man. This isn’t just some little secret. You can’t keep blaming yourself. You never asked for it. It’s not like you were cheating or gambling away all your money or something.”

Nick scoffs and shakes his head, knowing that there was so much more to his break up than his friend knows. Maybe Nick hadn’t been out screwing around with other women, but to say there wasn’t a bit of emotional cheating would be a lie. Nick hadn’t even realized it until Juliette mentioned it and for once Nick didn’t lie about it. He was spending his time elsewhere when he said he was working late.

“What?”

“I lied about more than just grimm stuff. It just got so easy to lie. It didn’t take long to feel like we were strangers living together by pure happenstance. And the worst part was that I didn’t even care, not until it got too late. And even then…” Nick shrugs. “I’m still not sure I care. I mean, it sucks being alone, but…I feel like I’m free, like the weight of the world is off my shoulders. I know that probably makes me a bad person, but – ”

“You’re not a bad person. I know that nothing I say is going to change your mind, but for what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re a bad guy and I know there’s a lot of people in this town that would agree.”

Nick picks up his head and looks at Monroe, the corners of his lips barely perking up into a smile. “I don’t get you, Monroe. You’re a better friend to me than I deserve.”

“Oh, come on. Don’t even pull any of that self-pity crap with me. I’m sorry that you’re not with Juliette anymore, but don’t let that determine how good of a person you are. Couples break up all the time, it doesn’t mean you’re not worth it. One day you’ll find the right person and they’ll convince you that you’re awesome and worth it and maybe they’re a whole lot closer than you know.”

“You think?”

Monroe nods. “Yeah, I do.”

“You know…every time I said I lied about working late, I was with you.”

Monroe furrows his brow. “Why’d you lie about that? Juliette knows me.”

“I’m not sure how she would have liked knowing that I’d rather spend my time with you.”

“What?”

Nick shrugs. “I like spending time with you. Prefer it, actually.”

“Really?” Monroe asks as his cheeks begin to redden.

“Well, yeah.” Nick stretches out, feet back on the floor. He turns his body so he’s facing Monroe straight-on. “I pretty much spend all my free time with you.”

“But why?”

Nick wants to say something along the lines of, “Gee, maybe because I think you’re great and I actually love hearing you talk about clocks and, oh yeah, I might sort of be in love with you.” But words can’t accurately say exactly what he wants, so instead of saying anything, Nick leans over and kisses Monroe.

Monroe’s shocked, to say the least. But his eyes fall shut and he kisses back. Because how could he not? Monroe learned a long time ago not to fall in love with his friends. And when Nick came into his life, he had to constantly remind himself, especially because his new friend was straight and in a relationship. But now that friend is kissing him, of his own freewill, so Monroe gives in. He kisses back. He lets himself feel everything he’s been fighting.

Instead of deepening the kiss, Nick pulls away. Sure Monroe was kissing back, but it was probably pitty. “I, uh, I’m sorry Monroe.”

“What? Why?”

“I shouldn’t have done that. I’m just gonna mess everything up.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I don’t deserve you, Monroe. You’re too good for me.”

Monroe shakes his head. “No way, man. If anything, I’m the one that doesn’t deserve you.”

“You’re just saying that.”

“No I’m not. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had. But I want more. I want you.” Monroe sighs. “But I’m sure I’d end up doing something stupid and messing it up. I don’t want to lose you.”

“And that’s exactly why you’re the better person here. I’m selfish. I want you. Right now. I don’t care about long term or who’s going to mess up what. I just know that I want you, and have wanted you for longer than I should really admit.”

“Nick,” Monroe says softly, desperately.

Nick reaches out, running his fingers along Monroe’s jaw. “Say my name,” he whispers. “Say my name again. Please.”

Monroe leans into the touch, placing his hand over Nick’s. “Nick,” he says again.

Nick leans forward and kisses Monroe again, deeper, more desperately. He leans up on his knees, and straddles Monroe’s lap. He grinds his hips down, making Monroe moan into his mouth. His hands slip beneath Monroe's sweater, pushing at the fabric until he's pulling it off and tossing it aside. He's quick to take off his own shirt and let it fall to the floor.

His mouth quickly finds Monroe's neck, kissing, sucking, nipping. Monroe lets a few growls slip past his lips. Monroe's hands slide up Nick's thighs, settling at his waist, unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans. When Monroe slips his hand into Nick's pants, it earns him a long, deep moan. Nick pulls away, unable to do much more than moan and rock into Monroe's touch.

"Should we, uh, go to the bedroom?" Monroe reclaims his hand, trying to get Nick's attention.

Nick whines at the loss of contact. His head is spinning and he's having a tough time stringing together a coherent sentence. So instead, he just nods. He follows Monroe down the hall. Well, more or less lets himself be pulled down the hall and into the bedroom. He falls into bed with Monroe close behind. Soon their pants are tossed aside and they're back to kissing. Nick bucks his hips up, begging for friction, pleasure.

"Nick," Monroe whispers, "are you sure about this?"

"Yeah," Nick pants out. "I want you."

Monroe begins kissing his way down Nick's body. He starts at Nick's jaw, moves to his neck, then his collar bones. Next he kisses over Nick's chest and stomach, making Nick fist his hands in the sheet. Monroe makes a mental note to remember all the little spots that make Nick moan. Hooking his fingers under the waist band of Nick's boxer briefs, Monroe tugs at the fabric and soon sends them to the floor. He kisses the inside of each thigh, starting at the knee and moving up.

Nick is already hard; has been since Monroe pushed him down on the bed. Monroe traces a light finger up the underside of Nick's cock, which he then repeats, but this time with his tongue. Nick's breath gets caught in his throat as he whines. Barely able to keep his eyes open, Nick looks down and watches as Monroe's head bobs up and down. He bites his bottom lip. Then Monroe uses his tongue to press against the senstive spot right under the head and Nick's head falls back, eyes slam shut. He cries out, _fuck, Monroe, oh fuck, ah, right there, fuck_. Monroe pulls off with a pop and uses his hand to finish Nick off. Nick comes in a few spurts, striping his stomach and Monroe's hand. Monroe watches as a shiver runs through Nick's body and works him thorough it.

When Nick seems to have come down, he can't help but smile a goofy, post-coital smile at Monroe. He reaches over and pulls Monroe closer, their lips meeting once again. Soon Nick notices Monroe's very neglected cock and slips a hand between them. It's not long before he's making his way down Monroe's body and slipping his lips over the head of his dick. His mouth and hand work together (the little footnote, in one of the tomes, on blutbaden endowment was quite accurate). He flicks his tongue over the slit and runs it up the underside. Monroe's eyes were slammed shut, but behind his eyelids, his eyes were a deep red. Growls mix with moans as Monroe gets closer. It's not long before he's coming in hot sputs, unloading in Nick's mouth.

The two spend the rest of the night curled up in bed, stealing kisses, and murmuring sweet nothings. They both know they'll have to talk about it in the morning, but neither cares. Both of them had been waiting far too long for this moment to spoil it with words.


End file.
